People Solutions

Succession planning often starts with a simple question: “Who will replace this person when they leave?”  But that may be the wrong place to start.

In the latest episode of People Solutions, Sue and Alyssa talk about shifting succession planning from a replacement exercise to an ongoing strategy for building leadership capacity.

• Why having a name next to every critical role isn’t enough

• How to identify succession risks beyond the senior leadership team

• Why high performers aren’t automatically future leaders

• How to assess readiness and potential more objectively

• What leaders can do now to build a stronger leadership pipeline.

The question isn’t just, “Who could take over?”  It’s “Who are we developing today who could take on more responsibility tomorrow?”

You’ve probably heard someone say this after taking an assessment: “Wow. That is incredibly accurate. It sounds exactly like me.”But if you’re using assessments to make decisions about hiring, promotion, leadership development, or succession, “accurate” isn’t enough.

In the latest episode of People Solutions, Sue talks about the difference between assessments that describe people and those that actually give you useful information for making better people decisions.

We’ll look at:• Why personality and behavior are only part of the picture
• What you should be measuring if you want to better predict success
• How assessment data can help reduce bias and improve interviews
• Five questions to ask before putting too much faith in any assessment

She also shares a simple three-question test you can use to evaluate the assessments your organization already uses.

Because the most important question isn’t, “Does this sound like me?”  It’s, “What does this help me do?”

What if one of the biggest drivers of burnout in your organization isn't the workload, but the work itself?

In the latest episode of People Solutions, Sue sits down with Jeff Arnold, Founder & President of 4Spot Consulting, to talk about a topic that's generating plenty of buzz but even more confusion: automation versus AI. Jeff's perspective is refreshingly practical. Rather than replacing people, he believes technology should eliminate the repetitive work that keeps your best employees from doing what they do best.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why automation should come before AI in most organizations.
• How one simple automation saved a company 15 hours every week.
• The hidden administrative work that's quietly burning out your top performers.
• Easy automation opportunities you can implement without a big budget or IT department.
• How to use technology to create more meaningful human interactions, not fewer.

If you're looking for practical ways to improve productivity, engagement, and retention without adding headcount, you'll find this conversation worthwhile.

Not every performance issue is an employee problem.

Sometimes it’s a selection issue.
Sometimes it’s unclear expectations.
Sometimes it’s the environment around them.

In this episode, we introduce the SCORE Framework—a leadership tool designed to help organizations pause before assigning blame and instead diagnose what’s really going on.

It walks through five areas: Selection, Communication, Obstacles, Resources, and Expectations.

Because better diagnosis leads to better performance management decisions.

Only 39% of employees say someone at work genuinely cares about them. Yet 90% of leaders agree that when employees feel cared for, they're more loyal. 

So...what's the disconnect? 

This week on People Solutions, we sit down with Jamie Shibley, CEO of The Expressory, to explore what it really means to build a culture where people feel seen, valued, and remembered. 

Jamie shares practical, actionable ways leaders can move beyond surface-level recognition and create sustainable systems of gratitude that actually drive retention. We cover:

• The connection between employee experience and long-term retention
• Subtle signs your team may not feel valued
• Where small businesses unintentionally miss the mark
• How to create a culture of acknowledgement without relying on constant gifting

Engagement isn't about doing more.  It's about being more intentional with what already matters.

Everyone is rushing to hire for AI skills, but most many organizations are asking the wrong questions.In this episode, Sue MacArthur and Alyssa Curit unpack why hiring for today’s technical expertise may actually increase your risk in a rapidly changing environment. As tools evolve and roles shift in real time, the most valuable employees aren’t just the ones who know the latest platforms—they’re the ones who can learn, adapt, and stay effective through change.Sue and Alyssa explore:

• Why hard skills are becoming less reliable predictors of success 
• The real drivers of long-term performance (learning agility, adaptability, resilience, and curiosity)
• Where hiring processes often go wrong 
• How to shift to a more future-focused hiring approach 

If your organization is trying to keep up with AI, this conversation will help you rethink what—and who—you should actually be looking for.

Managers rarely intend to create confusion.  In fact, most leaders care deeply about communicating well with their teams. But even experienced managers can fall into subtle communication habits that lead to misalignment, frustration, and missed expectations.

In this solo episode, Sue walks through five common communication mistakes managers make without realizing it, including:

• Assuming people understand more than they do• Being vague in an effort to be polite

• Communicating in only one way

• Talking more than listening

• Assuming silence means agreement

These mistakes usually don’t come from poor leadership; they come from busy schedules, pressure to move quickly, and relying on our natural communication style.  The good news: small adjustments can make a significant difference.

Sue also shares practical ways managers can improve clarity, strengthen alignment, and create more productive conversations with their teams.  If you manage people and want to become a better leader, this episode will help you recognize communication patterns that may be holding your team back.

Effective leadership communication isn’t about talking more, it’s about creating shared understanding.  If you or someone on your team needs help refining their communication skills, let's talk about it.  Schedule a complimentary consultation.

Many small business owners rely on workshops and online courses to develop leaders, yet they often find that very little actually changes afterward.  In this episode of our People Solutions podcast, Sue and Chris explore why that happens and what does work.The answer isn’t more training.  It’s coaching — simple, practical, day-to-day coaching that happens in real time as leaders navigate the work.We talk about:

• Why courses alone rarely shift leadership behavior
• What coaching actually looks like in real life (not theory)
• How to coach effectively in just 10–15 minutes a week
• How to identify emerging leaders, even if they don’t have formal titles
• The common leadership gaps coaching helps close
• How coaching improves engagement, retention, and ownership

Coaching doesn’t have to be a big investment of time or money.  It’s about using meaningful moments to guide thinking, solve preventable problems, and help people take ownership over their work. If you’re a business owner who wants stronger leaders without adding more to your already full plate, this conversation will give you practical ways to start.  Need more help?  Schedule a complimentary consultation to talk about how STM can support your leadership development efforts: https://letsmeet.io/suemacarthur/complimentary-consultation

Company culture is often talked about, but rarely defined, measured, or intentionally shaped.  In this episode of STM's People Solutions podcast, Sue talked with Dean Mathews, Founder and CEO of OnTheClock, about what company culture really is, how it shows up in day-to-day behaviors, and why leaders - not policies or perks - are the most powerful drivers of culture.

• Why culture forms whether you manage it or not
• How leadership behavior shapes trust, engagement, and accountability
• The connection between culture, performance, and retention
• Practical ways leaders can influence culture starting today

Culture isn't an HR initiative; it's a leadership responsibility and one of the strongest predictors of long-term success.If you're ready to take a more intentional approach to culture, leadership, and the employee experience, explore our tools and resources at Resources - Strategic Talent Management or reach out to schedule a complimentary consultation.

In this latest episode of STM’s People Solutions Podcast, Sue and Alyssa explore the book ends of the full talent lifecycle. Drawing on our Onboarding Essentials and Offboarding Essentials guides, they unpack practical frameworks that help organizations strengthen culture, accelerate productivity, and protect the employer brand at every stage.The first and last impressions an employee experiences aren’t just administrative checkpoints, they’re culture statements. When onboarding and offboarding are strategic, consistent, and human-centered, organizations benefit from:

• Faster time-to-productivity
• Higher retention
• Stronger engagement
• Reduced turnover fallout
• Better internal communication
• A healthier, more resilient culture

If you haven’t reviewed your onboarding or offboarding processes recently, now is the perfect time. Set up a consultation with STM to evaluate your talent lifecycle, reduce risk, and align your processes with the culture you want to build.  Simply reply to this email with TELL ME MORE and we’ll be in touch to schedule a complimentary consultation.

STM Resources:

Onboarding Essentials
Offboarding Essentials